Simple cuboidal epithelium is a single layer of cube- shaped cells and has centrally

located nucleus. It lines in the tubules which will be seen in both longitudinal and
cross-sectional. Simple cuboidal epithelium lines the surface of smaller excretory
ducts in various organs and glands in the body, compose some of the kidney tubules in
the kidney cortex, and create the covering of the ovary. In addition, simple cuboidal
epithelium also lines the anterior surface of capsule of lens of the eyes. By lining the
surface of various of ducts and glands, it provides the protection from bacteria,
foreign particles and excessive loss of water. The cell helps in absorption and
transportation of filtered substances in kidney tubules. Besides the absorption, it also
function in secretion such as sweet glands which will secrete sweat (Karen, 2010).
Spongy bone, also called cancellous or trabecular bone is one of the two types of
calcium tissue that makes up bones in the human body. It is lighter and weaker than
compact bone. Spongy bone is found at the end of long bones, at joints, and in
the vertebrae, the bones of the spinal column. It makes up a larger portion of the bone
than the external compact bone tissue. Spongy bone often contains red bone marrow,
the site of production of blood cells. The bone marrow fills up the open spaces
between the trabeculae. While the spongy bone tissue itself does not contain blood
vessels, the surrounding marrow is full of capillaries, and helps transfer nutrients and
other metabolic products from the blood to the bone tissue. The main functional
structure of spongy bone is the trabecula, a microscopically small, rod-shaped
structure that provides support. Trabeculae are found in many different parts of the
body, but they are most often made of collagen. Spongy bone is the only tissue to
feature trabeculae made of bone. The large surface area and high vascularity of
cancellous bone make it ideal for metabolic activity, such as ion and nutrient
exchange (wiseGEEK, n.d.).
Where exposure to friction is greatest, such as fingertips, palms, and soles, the thick
skin or palmar skin has five strata or layers which are stratum basale, stratum
spinosum, stratum granulosum, stratum lucidum and a thin stratum corneum. The
deepest layer of the epidermis is the stratum basale. Some cells in this layer are stem
calls that undergo cell division to continually produce new keratinocytes. Superficial
to the stratum basale is the stratum spinosum which consist of numerous keratinocytes
arranged in 8-10 layers. Langerhans cells and projections of melanoctes are present in
this layer. At about the middle of the epidermis, the stratum granulosum consists of
three to five layers of flatted keratinocytes This layer contain the protein keratohylin,
keratin converting protein and lamellar granules which will release lipid-rich
secretion. The stratum lucidum is only present in thick skin of areas such as the
fingertips, palms, and soles. It consists of 4 to 6 layers of flattened clear, dead
keratinocytes that contain large amounts of keratin and thickened plasma membranes.
This will gives an additional level of toughness in this region of thick skin. Stratum
corneum consists of 25 to 30 layers of flattened dead keratinocytes. In this outer
stratum of the epidermis, cells are continuosly shed and replaced by cells from the
deeper strata. Its multiple layer of dead cells help the stratum corneum to protect
deeper layers from injury and microbial invasion (Gernard and Byran, 2011).

References:
1. Karen,B.,2010. Simple Cuboidal Epithelial. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/kabernd/berndcv/lab/epithelialinfoweb/simpl
e%20cuboidal%20epithelium.html [Accessed 27 June 2015].
2. WiseGEEK,n.d. What Is Spongy Bone? [Online].
Available at:
http://www.wisegeekhealth.com/what-is-spongy-bone.htm [Accessed 27 June
2015].
3. Gernard,J.T. and Byran,D., 2011. Princples of ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY.
13th ed. Asia: John Wiley & Sons,Inc.